Akuroku
by AMXXM
Summary: AU. Axel hates his job, Roxas keeps on getting pushed around at his school. What'll happen when the two meet? Hmmm...  Contains Akuroku and SaixOC
1. Chapter 1

Axel was bored. His shitty job had him sitting in a shitty cubicle for eight hours everyday. Not only that, but because he was low on munny, he couldn't pay for a parking spot everyday. The closest free parking lot was at the high school, over a mile away. Not that Axel didn't mind the walk, he actually enjoyed it somewhat. Unless it was raining. If there was one thing Axel hated more than his job, it was rain.

He sat at his desk, attempting to work on whatever dull assignment his boss had told him to work on. Not that his computer was much help. It made a snail look fast, and in thunderstorms, it went even slower, sometimes even shutting itself down. Axel groaned, running a hamd through his spiky red hair. He looked up at the clock, in hope that there was less time than he thought. 'Thirty more minutes of this? God... why do I have to go through this shit?'

Axel looked out the window, at least maybe it would be nice outside. The red-head looked out to a black sky, which was then pierced by a flash of white light. "Fuck. Thunderstorms. Now how am I supposed to get anything done?"

Axel desperately tried to save everything he had been working on, when the power shut off. Not just his computer, the whole building.

"Oh that's just great." He heard one of his co-workers grumble. His boss came to his cubicle. "Axel, there isn't much more work that can be done while the computers are down. You may go."

Axel huffed, grabbed his jacket, his breifcase, and let. He was soon followed by his co-workers. They parted ways, and Axel started his daily walk, this time in freezing cold rain and thunder. Axel shivered, but didn't bother putting on his jacket; it was probably soaked through already. The red-head's hair was now slicked back, with unruly strands falling into his face. Axel shloshed through the mud and puddles, inwardly telling himself he needed a new job that he wouldn't have to walk a mile from just to get to his car.

He wasn't even quite sure why he had gotten the job in the first place. Maybe because it was the first one to accept Axel when he first moved to Twilight Town. Maybe because, at one point, there had been a hot blonde working there. The two of them had dated off and on, until she met some other guy and ended up with him instead of Axel. Everytime Axel thought of her, a red haze always filled his vision. He didn't know why.

Eventually, he got to the high school. The thunder had stopped, but the rain was as relentless as before. The high school students were filing out into the rain; he heard girls scream about their hair getting messed up by the rain. Axel almost smiled, before realizing that she had always complained about her hair getting messed up by rain. A red haze blocked his vision.

"Hey! Give that back!" A boy's screech slashed through Axel's memories. He stood there, looking for the source. A short blonde boy was attemting to grab a book from a much taller, brunette boy. Beside the brunette stood a girl with bronze hair pulled back, and an extremely short, emo-looking boy. The girl sneered. "Oooh... is that your diary? What's Roxas got in there, stuff about his boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend! Give me that back!" Roxas screeched. The brunette just laughed and raised it higher in the air. Axel looked around. No one was coming to help the blonde, they all just watched the scene unfold, or ignored it.

"Yeah ya do, Roxas! Wanna know why? Cuz you're GAY!" Brunette spat in Roxas's face, getting roars of laughter from the other two. Roxas clenched his fists. "Says the guy who has sex with Professor Saix every day!"

The brunette flared up. "I do not, you good for nothing piece of shit!"

Roxas was shoved down by the brunette. The other blonde kicked mud into his face. "Why don't you go back to your cardboard box, you hobo! Or can your junkie parents not even afford you that?"

"Yeah! Hey, how does wet, rotten food from thrashbins taste? Better than mud or do you prefer that?" The bronze-haired girl kicked Roxas, who was trying to get up out of the mud. She then shoved his face into it. "This is what you deserve, you know. You're a broke, good for nothing piece of shit. Don't you forget it."

"You three are no better." Axel snarled, grabbing the girl's shoulder, and pulling her off Roxas. She glared up at him, her dark blue eyes full of malice. "What are you, his pedophile of a boyfriend?"

"No. I'm his older brother." Axel turned to the muddy blonde. "Come on, Roxas, let's go home."

The red-head turned to the three teens glaring at him. "Which, by the way, is NOT a cardboard box. Oh, and browny, you have fun in that janitors closet with your teacher..."

Axel grabbed Roxas's arm and whisked him away from the three bullies, who were now standing in the downpour, mouths hanging open. Once out of earshot, Roxas turned to Axel. "Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

"I don't know, just thought that you might not want a mud bath." Axel pulled out a small leather notebook from his pocket. "I think this is your's..."

"Thanks." Roxas put the notebook into his backpack, which, during the whole episode, had stayed relatively clean.

"Do you mind if I take you to my house to let you clean up, or would your parents get worried?" Axel looked at the blonde, who was now staring at his feet. Axel put his hand on his shoulder. "Roxas...?"

"I'm fine... just... spaced out." Roxas shook his head. Axel nodded. "Ok, so about what I said...?"

"You could come back with me to my apartment. My parents are probably still at work." By that point, the two of them had reached Axel's old, beat up truck. "Well, it's not much, but it's all I've got."

Roxas's bright blue eyes lit up at the sight of it. A small smile crossed Axel's face. "So, I guess you like trucks then?"

The blonde blushed. "Uh, yeah..."

Axel smiled at him, and got in the truck. Roxas got in the other side, and they headed to Roxas's apartment. All the time, neither one spoke, they just looked at each other occasionally. Both were grinning: Axel because he just might have something interesting to look forward to, and Roxas, because he finally had someone on his side.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxas took out the key to his apartment, and opened the door. He switched on the lightswitch, on off on off on off on, before realizing that the power was out. "Oh, great. Now I have to find a flashlight, which could be anywhere..."

"I have a lighter." Axel blurted out, taking the flame printed lighter out of his pocket and handing it to where he thought Roxas was standing. Roxas took it, and for a second, their hands touched. Roxas blushed, suddenly glad for the darkness. He flicked the light on. "Thanks, but I think I prefer a flashlight. Less chance of burning yourself, you know."

Axel nodded, sitting down on the couch. He immediantly sprang back up, cursing and rubbing the underside of his thigh. "Shit! What the hell was that?"

"Probably a spring. We need a new couch." Roxas called from the kitchen, where he was searching fo a flashlight. 'We need a new EVERYTHING.' He thought to himself angrily. And maybe they would have more, if Roxas's father stopped his gambling obsession and his mother wasn't a prostitute. They wasted all their money on alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. The apartment smelled like those three things. And sex. It always smelled like sex.

In the living room, Axel searched around for some other source of light, seeing as his lighter was being used at the moment. No luck, but he did pierce himself with broken glass a couple times. He was sittingnext to the broken couch, sucking one of his injured fingers, when Roxas came back with two flashlights and a lighter. "Here."

Axel grabbed the lighter and flashlight, put the lighter in his pocket, and turned on the flashlight. He shined it on his fingers, which were bleeding. Roxas peered over the wet red-head's shoulder. "You okay?"

Axel nodded. "Nothing too bad. I've had worse."

"Ok. I'm going to take a shower. If you want to, there's another shower in my parents' room..." Roxas pointed his flashlight at a closed door. Axel stood up, mumbled thanks, and walked in, searching the floor for anything else that would injure him. He heard Roxas start his water, and hurried to find the bathroom door. He opened it, and unsuprisingly, it was a mess as well as the rest of the small apartment. Used condoms, bloody tampons, towels, random pieces of clothing, a toothbrush littered the floor. Axel kicked some things away from where he was standing, thenkicked off his shoes as well. He shrugged himself out of his clothes, and turned on the shower. Axel shook out his thick mane of red hair, and stepped into freezing cold water. He clenched his teeth, and proceded to find the shampoo, which he then scrubbed throughout his hair, soothing his scalp.

"And I thought I was a slob..." He said to himself, running his hands through his hair and shivering slightly. He shut off the water and stepped out, shaking his head again. He found a relatively clean towel, rubbed it through his hair, and then tied it around his waist. "Now what? It's not like I have any dry clothes... and I really don't want to put on those."

Axel poked his soaking clothes with his toe. He sighed, and left the bathroom. He peered around the room, watching where he stepped as he went. Axel exited th bedroom, and, still in the towel, walked to the other door that he guessed was Roxas's room. He knocked twice, but got no answer. "Hey Roxas... I have a slight problem..."

Roxas opened the door, fully clothed. "What?"

"Do you think that your dad would mind if I borrowed some of his clothes?"

Roxas's eyes looked from the red-head's feet to his red hair. "They'd be really loose on you, but it's better than nothing."

"Or wet clothes."

"Or wet clothes." Roxas smiled at Axel's retreating back. He sighed, glad the red-head hadn't seen him blushing the whole time Axel had been standing there in nothing but a towel.

END.


	3. Chapter 3

Axel changed into a pair of jeans and some random polo shirt he found. The pants were three sizes to big (at least) and the shirt made him look thinner than ever. But Axel really didn't care. He combed through his hair, knowing it would spike back up when it dried off, and went into the living room. Roxas sat on the arm of the couch, reading a book, and scribbling things down. Axel scanned the couch for anymore springs that he had missed the first time, and sat down near Roxas. "What are you doing?"

"Homework." Came the simple reply. Roxas tapped his pencil on his chin. Axel smiled. 'Cute.' The red-head then shook his head violently. 'NO! Bad Axel! The kid's probably fifteen... you're twenty. Five years difference, no way!'

"Axel!" Roxas whined. "You got my paper all wet!"

"Sorry..." Axel bit his lip, trying not to laugh. This kid didn't seem to have anything to worry about, other than the dampness of his homework papers. He didn't have to worry about paying anything, if he was going to get fired from his job, getting his car repaired, fixing the leaks in his apartment (for the thousanth time), no, this kid was lucky. Axel looked over at the blonde, who was concentrating on his homework as though his life depended on it. Axel shook his head slightly, grinning. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Concentrate like that. I can't keep myself on task for much longer than five minutes unless it's something that ineterests me!" Axel laughed. 'Like you, for example.'

"ADD?" Roxas's blue eyes stared into Axel's green ones. Axel shook his head. "Naw, I don't have a problem, I just get bored way to easily."

"With your work or with your girlfriends as well?"The blonde was serious. He wanted to know. Axel wasn't in the mood to talk about old relationships. He didn't think that he ever would be.

"Axel?" Roxas tilted his head and blinked twice. Axel's mouth twitched, he resisted smiling at that. Instead, he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"OK." Strange, most people would pester Axel until he got pissed off. So much that he would beat who ever it was. Despite what he had told Roxas, Axel did have a problem: anger. It could take over his body, leave him watching helplessly on the sidelines as his body hurt someone he cared for. That's why he left his home. He didn't want to hurt his family. And, he had been afraid he would hurt Roxas. Then the blonde had said the two letters that Axel longed to hear when he didn't want to talk: OK.

"Thanks, Roxas."

"For what? I haven't done anything. You're the one who should be thanked!" Roxas felt himself sliding off the armrest. He felt Axel's skinny arms wrap around him. Roxas felt the warmth from Axel's body. He felt Axel set his chin on his head. Axel felt Roxas's arms wrap around him. He felt the blond press against his chest. But neither one felt ths other's silent tears.


	4. Chapter 4

"Axel…" Roxas murmured into the older man's chest. "You can let go of me now…"

Axel sighed, and released the blonde. Roxas closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa. Axel stared at this kid, another smile forming on his face. He hadn't been this happy since he had met HER. As that thought crossed Axel's mind, he growled. Roxas opened his eyes to see Axel sitting next to him with his eyes narrowed and his lip curled. Roxas scooted away, thinking it better that Axel be left alone.

"What is it about you, Roxas? I barely even know you, and yet I feel as though we've known each other forever…" Axel pulled up his legs and sat his chin on his knees. "I thought that I'd never feel happy again. And yet here you are. I don't even know why I helped you out, I'm just glad I did."

Roxas sat there, stunned by the red-head. "I-I didn't expect you to help me. I thought you were on their side… you just looked so… fierce."

Axel sighed and closed his eyes. Roxas scooted back over and sat his chin on the red-head's shoulder. "I'll tell you something if you tell me what you're hiding from me."

Axel's eyes flew open. He glared at Roxas, and Roxas was pretty sure that he saw flames in Axel's emerald green eyes.

"Or…" Roxas tensed, wondering what Axel would do to him. "Or… we could get something to eat. I'm hungry. Do you have anything good or will we have to go somewhere else?"

"I'll check." Roxas knew that the only edible things in this house were the zillions of bottles of alcohol and maybe some cereal. He opened the fridge, only to get blasted with the putrid smell of spoiled milk. He looked at the half empty gallon, which had expired two months ago. How had he not noticed it?

"Ew." Roxas picked up the sour milk and walked across the small room to throw it away. Luckily the trash would be picked up tomorrow.

"Find anything?" Axel stood in the doorway, watching Roxas throw away the sour milk. Roxas felt his face heat up as he choked out "No."

Axel raised an eyebrow and walked to the fridge. He opened it up and scanned the many bottles of liquor that stood there. He took one out, grabbed two glasses, poured a little into each, and handed one to Roxas.

Roxas felt himself turning redder. "Um… I can't drink. I'm underage."

"So?" Axel put the glass to his lips and took a sip. "Eh… I've had better."

Roxas was about to say something when he heard the door open. Axel turned his head to the direction of the door, eyebrows raised in curiosity. Roxas went pale, knowing that no matter who it was, it wouldn't be good for Axel and Roxas to be standing in the kitchen drinking whatever Axel had poured. Axel, on the other hand, didn't seem nervous at all.

"Roxassssss!" His mother's high-pitched, feminine voice cut through the think silence of the apartment. Axel winced when she spoke. "She sounds like nails on a chalkboard…!"

"You get used to it." Roxas shrugged it off. His mother screeched again. "Roxassssss! Why are tee lights not working?"

"No power! It shut off when I got home!" Roxas let out a groan, then turned to Axel. "She's drunk. If I were you, I'd leave now while the power's still out…"

And then the lights flickered on. Roxas bit his lip. "Shit."

"I think I like it better when I can see…" Axel was peering around the fridge, staring at Roxas's mom. "Why didn't you tell me that your mom is a sexy beast?"

"There's probably a reason, but for the likes of me, I can't figure out what it is. Other than the possibility of you hooking up with my mother is kind of freaky." Roxas snarled at the red-head, who hadn't heard a thing that Roxas had said, seeing as he was a bit preoccupied. The red-head just nodded.

Roxas's mom looked around for her son, but instead saw a red-headed man staring at her from around the fridge. As Roxas had thought, she was indeed drunk. She winked and blew a kiss at the red-head. He winked back. She walked forward, swinging her hips back and forth as she went. But the red-head wasn't looking at her hips, instead he was staring straight at her chest. Not that she minded.

Roxas watched as his own mother walked seductively towards Axel, a sly look on her face. Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Axel."

Axel turned towards Roxas, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Yes, Roxas?"

Roxas didn't get a chance to reply, because his mother had shoved Axel onto the refrigerator, and was now kissing him fiercely. Roxas knew that wasn't Axel's fault; when his mother was drunk, it was best to let her just do whatever. And then Axel started moving his hands up and down her back. Then up her shirt. Then Axel's hand bunched up as he undid Roxas's mother's bra strap. And that's when Roxas snapped. "GOD DAMMIT! GET A ROOM!"

Roxas stormed out of the kitchen and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He sat down on his bed, buried his face in a pillow, and cried. Five minutes passed, and then there was a knock on the door. "Roxas?"

Axel. Roxas wanted so very much to run through the door and tackle the red-head down, yet he knew he couldn't let Axel off that easily. "Roxas, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd get upset."

'Guess that means you didn't think at all.' He almost spat them at Axel, but something made him stop. Roxas turned over, and, still hugging the pillow, sat up and stared at the door. Axel sighed, followed by a soft thump, letting Roxas know the red-head's head was resting on the door. "Everything I said to you… when we were sitting on the couch… all of it was true. I never meant to hurt you, and I'm sorry if I did…"

Axel stood, forehead pressed to the door, eyes closed. 'What is wrong with me? I just met this kid, and I almost had sex with his mother!'

Axel opened his eyes. They flicked to the other bedroom door, where Roxas's mother was sleeping. Axel had knocked her out, believing that was his only escape route. Now he was trying to convince Roxas to come out. Axel wanted to see the blonde's bright blue eyes, his soft, spiky blonde hair. Axel wanted to run in there and tackle Roxas down so badly, but he couldn't. The door was locked. Axel sighed and knocked on the door again. "Come on Roxas. This is stupid. You know it. I know it, and I'm the one who screwed up. All I'm trying to say is that what I did was a mistake."

"I know Axel. You can shut up now." Roxas's voice was scratchy, like he had been crying. Although why, Axel didn't know. 'Unless… naw. He wouldn't like me. Not after the jerk I've been.'

"So… you gonna come out?"

"No."

"I will come in there, you know. I'll figure out a way."

"Or you could just open the door…" Axel raised an eyebrow. The door was locked, but he turned it anyway. And to his surprise, it opened. Roxas sat on his bed, clutching a pillow to his chest, and staring at Axel with tears in his eyes. Axel sat next to Roxas on his bed. "Sorry."

"That's all I needed to hear, you know. I didn't want an excuse." Roxas leaned his head onto Axel's shoulder, Axel sat his head on Roxas's blonde spikes. The red-head closed his eyes and sighed. 'This might just work out…' He thought, a smile forming on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Axel and Roxas ended up ordering a pizza and watching horror movies late into the night. During the middle of either the fourth or the fifth, Roxas fell asleep in Axel's lap. The red-head tried to move him off, but Roxas only clung on to Axel's borrowed shirt tighter. Sighing, Axel unbuttoned the shirt in an attempt to get Roxas off of him. Instead, the blonde clung onto Axel's (now bare) chest, causing his face to match his hair color.

After about thirty more minutes of trying to detach Roxas, Axel gave up on it. He turned off the movie and lay down on the couch. A quick glance at his watch told him it was 1:35 AM. Axel yawned, wrapped his arms around the blonde, and promptly fell asleep.

"AH! Axel! What are you doing?" The red-head woke up to a very red-faced blonde beating him over the head with a pillow. Axel laid there, the pillow thudding against his head, trying to figure out where he was, and who was beating him over the head. He looked up at the blonde. "Roxas?"

"Yes! Why the hell are you shirtless? And why are you wrapped around me?" With every word Roxas said, he hit Axel with the pillow. Axel blinked a couple of times, still trying to wake up. Then it hit him, and he turned paler than usual. "Oh fuck… please tell me that what happened between me and your mom was just a dream…"

"It wasn't!" Roxas screeched, still attempting to get out of Axel's grip. Axel noticed this and let go immediately. "Hey, I'm sorry, alright. Now would you stop hitting me?"

"Not until you explain why I woke up pressed to your bare skin!"

"You fell asleep during the movie last night, and clung to my shirt. Then when I tried to get you off by getting rid of my shirt, you grabbed me instead." Axel sat up and stretched. "You have any coffee?"

Roxas shook his head, a blush starting to appear on his cheeks. Axel smiled at the blonde. "Want a ride to school? I'll take you to Starbucks on the way if you want me to."

"OK." Roxas hopped up. "Let me just go change into a different pair of clothes."

Axel nodded, watching the blonde walk to his room. He seemed to not even notice the things on the floor, just moved nimbly through them. 'I wonder if I do that in my apartment…' Another thought crossed his mind. 'I wonder if he'd be able to do that in my apartment.'

Roxas stepped out of his room in a new set of clothes. Axel stood up and headed to the door. "Alright, let's go by my apartment first so that I can get some of my clothes back on, k?"

"OK." The two of them exited Roxas's apartment, walked down the two flights of stairs, and into the parking deck. Axel looked around. "Shit. I forgot where my car is…"

"Press the 'panic' button." Roxas pointed to a small red button on Axel's car keys. Axel raised the keys up in the air and pressed the red button. A loud beeping noise blared at them from their left. Axel grinned. "Guess it's over there."


	6. Chapter 6

The two guys got out of Axel's old red truck. Roxas walked next to Axel, looking up at him. "How come you're so tall?"

"How come you're so short?" Axel smirked back at his friend. It was a friendly smirk, and Roxas knew it. That didn't keep him from elbowing the red-head in response. Axel laughed. "Hey, it's the truth. You are kind of vertically challenged…"

"And you're a freak." Roxas grinned as Axel shoved him playfully. The two reached the high school building. Roxas turned to the red-head. "See you this afternoon."

"See ya, Roxas." Axel gave a half-wave, and then turned and left. Roxas stood there for a minute, wondering if he had really seen sadness in the red-head's expression, or if he had just imagined it all. Suddenly a short, pale, blonde girl came up next to Roxas. "OMG Roxas is that the guy from yesterday? I heard that he threatened Lexrach with a knife! Is it true? What kind of knife was it? Did he even stab her? And where did you guys go? Did he take you to his house and rape you or something? Is he a pedophile? Did you guys have sex or something? Is that why you're smiling?"

"Hey Namine. Slow down. One question at a time." Roxas grabbed his friend's shoulders. Namine's pale blue eyes were huge, and filled with even more questions than the ones she had already spit out. Namine blinked. "Okay, sorry. Was that guy you were talking to the mysterious red-head who saved you?"

"Yes. His name is Axel." Roxas nodded. The two of them walked into the school together. As they walked, Namine continued her questions. "Did he threaten to stab Lexrach with a knife?"

Roxas shook his head. Lexrach, the bronze-haired girl who enjoyed tormenting Roxas, was more likely to be the one threatening people with knives. Namine's eyes widened. "Where did he take you?"

"To my apartment."

"What did you two do there? Were either of your parents home?" Namine looked like the world might be crashing down on her. Roxas sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Jeez Nam, you act like every little thing is going to end badly…"

"But what did you do there?"

"We talked. And then I searched for something edible but didn't find anything, so Axel ordered pizza. Then the two of us watched horror movies while eating pizza. And I fell asleep on the couch." Roxas stopped himself before he said what he had woken up to the next morning. Namine would freak if she heard that.

"Were your parents home?"

"My mom came in when we were looking for something to eat." Namine raised an eyebrow, willing her blonde friend to continue. "And she and Axel ended up making out on the fridge."

Namine giggled. "I can see that. Did you get angry?"

"Yeah. I barely knew this guy, he didn't even know my mom, and there they were, making out." Roxas clenched his teeth. Even though he said that he forgave Axel, he was still rather pissed about it.

"So…" Namine started. Roxas groaned inwardly, having hoped that the interrogation was over. "Do you like him?"

"What?"

Namine sighed and rolled her eyes. "Roxas, I know that you're gay, and maybe this is the right one. At least he hasn't tried getting into your pants like the last couple of guys did…"

Roxas could feel himself going red. Namine was the only one, other than any of the boys that he had dated, who knew he was gay. At this school, if you had a secret, even telling it to your best friend could be bad. Because most people here had problems, and they would do anything to make sure someone else's got out first.

"He's better than Chexese… that's for sure." Namine said, her eyes turning cold at the thought of Roxas's last boyfriend. Chexese had turned on Roxas not long after they had started to get serious about their relationship. Chexese had hooked up with Lexrach's younger brother, Joxsh, but that hadn't worked out too well. So Chexese went to Professor Saix for "help." Chexese and Professor Saix had been going in and out of the Professor's closet ever since. Roxas grimaced at the memory. "Yeah. Way better than Chexese."

Namine smiled to herself. She had an idea on how to get Axel and Roxas to fall in love. Now all she needed was an opportunity…


	7. Chapter 7

People whishpered behind Roxas's back during his first class. He ignored them, thinking instead of how he would explain that he hadn't done any of his homework. He tapped his pencil on the desk, glad that he didn't have any homework from his first two classes. 'Hopefully I'll figure something out by then…'

His second period went by quickly, giving him barely enough time to complete his third period homework. He just finished the last question as the bell ring to dismiss the class. Roxas started stuffing his things into his bag. As he stuffed in his math textbook, he heard the sound of ripping paper, and looked up to see Chexese ripping his homework up. Chexese smirked down at Roxas. "Oh, whoops. Sorry about that…"

Chexese ripped the paper again. "Boy, Saix is gonna kill you when he realizes you spent yesterday having sex instead of doing his homework…"

"That's what you did." Roxas snarled up at the brunette. Chexese just laughed at him. "Yeah, but seeing as I was having it with Saix, he'll let it slide. As far as I know, Fire-head isn't a teacher here…"

With that, Chexese left, taking the ripped homework with him. Roxas grabbed his bag, bit his lip, and started towards his next class. Chexese was waiting outside, another smirk on his face. Roxas walked past him, trying to ignore the thick-headed teen laughing at him. "Saix is gonna kill you… Saix is gonna kill you… Saix is gonna…"

"Shut up, will you?" Roxas said over his shoulder, not in the mood for Chexese's annoyances. He walked faster, hoping to lose the brunette, only to hear Chexese's footsteps speed up. Roxas groaned. 'Why does he insist on making my life worse than it already is?'

The late bell rang seconds before the two teens reached Professor Saix's door. Roxas opened it, wondering what he was in for this time. Saix looked up, his yellow eyes narrowed. "You are late Roxas. I believe that this was your last tardy before a detention?"

Roxas stood there, stunned. "But sir… Chexese was late too…" He looked over his shoulder to see no one behind him. Roxas turned back around to see Chexese sitting in his chair, a smirk on his face. "Yeah right. I've been here the whole time."

"Roxas. Sit down now before I give you another detention." Saix glared menacingly at the blonde. Roxas sat down, groaning. Saix took roll, then walked around to collect the homework. As Saix walked towards Roxas's desk, the blonde bit his lip. 'How am I supposed to explain this to Saix?'

"Roxas, your homework please?" Saix tapped his finger on Roxas's desk, annoyance all over his face. Roxas's blue eyes met the professor's blue ones. "Um… I d-don't have it…"

"Would you care to tell me WHY you do not have it?"

"I did it, but then Chexese ripped it up."

The blue-haired professor raised an eyebrow. "I cannot believe that Chexese would do something like that. Do not lie to me, Roxas. Where is your homework?"

"I… I didn't do it." Roxas looked at the floor. Saix smirked at his blonde student. "Another detention."

Roxas's head hit his desk. 'This is probably the worst day of my life…'

The rest of Roxas's day was spent attempting to finish his homework, which he did. He didn't have any problems with Chexese, Lexrach, or Joxsh for the rest of the day. And then school ended. Roxas walked back to Saix's room for his first detention. Roxas opened the door to see five others, one of which being Lexrach, sitting in random desks.

"Ah, hello Roxas. Glad to see you are on time for once." Saix smirked. "Sit down there."

Saix had pointed to the desk next to Lexrach, who, upon seeing who would be sitting next to her, curled her lip. Roxas sat down, scooting his chair away from the bronze-haired girl glaring at him. She scooted herself away from the blonde as well. "Why're YOU here, fag?"

Roxas ignored her. Instead he took out the notebook Chexese had stolen on the day he had met Axel. 'I thought that day would be bad, but it turned out to be the start of something amazing. Guess I have Chexese, Joxsh, and Lexrach to thank for that…'

"Hey, faggot, did you hear me?" Lexrach smacked Roxas with a book. Roxas turned to her. "Yeah, I heard you. I'm here cuz I told Saix Chexese destroyed my homework."

Lexrach laughed. "LOL! You moron! No one EVER blames Chexmix when they're talking to Saix! That has detention written all over it!"

"Yeah… kinda figured that out…" Roxas laughed nervously, surprised that he and Lexrach weren't trying to strangle each other for once. Lexrach smirked. "You know how Saix is about Chexmix… the two of them are connected at the hips… if ya know what I mean."

The two of them snickered. Saix looked up from where he was grading papers, causing the two teens only to snort into their desks. Lexrach looked over at the blonde. "Chexmix is under the desk…!"

Roxas burst out laughing. Saix stood up. "Lexrach! Roxas! Shut up or I'll give you two weeks of detention!"

Roxas bit his lip, and Lexrach pulled out a book, attempting to read it. She opened it to a random page, and put her hand over her mouth, snorting. "Roxas… read this."

Roxas read the sentence she was pointing to, and then pointed at Saix. Lexrach nodded, a grin on her face. Roxas whispered into Lexrach's ear. " 'I'll do it.' Saix said, leaning over the bed."

"Shut up or we'll get killed…!" Lexrach hissed. Roxas just smirked and turned back to his desk. Lexrach glared at him, but Roxas didn't care. Instead, he just grinned at the girl. "I win."

"Sure. I just want to know one thing. Did you and red-head have fun last night?"

Roxas turned red. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."


	8. Chapter 8

Axel looked out the window of his office. Rain had started to fall, not that much, but enough to annoy Axel. The red-head groaned, running a hand through his hair. "God, I hate rain."

"Get over it." Xigbar leaned over the red-head's cubicle, a crooked smile on his scarred face. Axel looked up at the older man, a glare on his face. "Not in the mood, Xig. Now get lost."

Xigbar's gold eye sparked. "What if I don't want to?"

"You'll get us both fired if you don't…" Axel returned to the boring assignment he had been given. An email popped up on his computer screen. Surprised, he clicked on it. It was from someone called MelodiousNocturn9. Axel recognized Demyx's name. He read through it. 'Hey Axel. If you don't recognize the address, it's me, Dem. Just wondering how you're doing in Twilight Town. Reno says hi, and your sisters miss you a lot. I hope you'll come visit us… if you get the time…'

Axel sighed. He hadn't heard from Demyx, or any of his friends, for over a year. He clicked reply. 'Glad to hear you're still alive, Dem. I'm going fine and wish that my boss would give me a vacation day for once in my life. Tell Kairi and Kai that I'll visit them as soon as I can.'

"What are you doing?" A tanned hand rested on Axel's shoulder. The red-head looked up to meet Xemnas's glowing orange eyes. A smirk filled his face. "Goofing off again, I see? I believe that this is the second time this week…"

"S-sorry sir… I promise it won't happen again!" Axel shook his head, eyes wide. Xemnas's narrowed. "That is what you said last time. How can I believe that it won't happen again? And not only are you getting distracted repeatedly, you have also been late for work the last three days…"

"I can explain that!" The red-head blurted out. He knew it was hopeless; Xemnas had already made his decision. Axel shook his head. "I've been taking this kid to school! He's poor, he needed me to do this for him and… and… I've been having him over for dinner so that he can eat… and if you fire me then he won't get anything to eat and he'll starve and die!"

Xemnas stared at the red-head at his feet. The silver-haired man shook his head. "Well if I fire you, the both of you can live in a cardboard box together."

Axel stood up, defeated. "Alright. I'll get my things and leave." The red-head grabbed his jacket, briefcase, and the few pictures he had pinned on the wall. He walked out of the building and onto the elevator. Axel sighed, wondering what he was going to screw up next. The elevator dinged, and Axel stepped off and into the lobby. The red-head walked out, not even bothering to wink at the desk-lady as he went. Pushing the doors open, Axel walked into the downpour. "Why does everything bad happen to me?"

Axel had gotten to the school by the time everyone was leaving. The red-head stood under a tree, attempting to keep from getting any wetter. A short blonde girl walked up to him, her pale blue eyes looking up into his. "Hi. Do you know Roxas?"

Axel blinked, surprised. "Uh, yeah. He's my friend. Are you his girlfriend?"

"No! Roxas and I are just friends!" The girl giggled. "By the way, my name is Namine. Roxas is in detention, so he won't be out for another hour."

Axel groaned. "That figures. What am I supposed to do for one hour?"

Namine shrugged and sat down. She took out a sketchpad and pencil, looked at the soaked red-head, and started to draw. Axel looked over at the petite girl on the ground. "What are you drawing?"

"You." Axel slid down the tree so he could see the blonde girl's drawing. "Not bad."

"Yeah… but it would look a hell of a lot better with mud!" Someone kicked mud at Namine, splattering it all over her and her sketchpad. Axel looked up to see Chexese smirking down at him. "Oh hey Pedo-man. Roxas will be pissed that you're cheating on him."

Axel stood up, towering over the brunette. He leaned over Namine, who had scooted back, and now had his fist inches away from the teens face. "I'll make you eat mud if you don't fuck off."

"Ooooh… scary!" Chexese laughed, and spat on Axel. The red-head grabbed Chexese's hair and flipped him onto the ground. The brown-haired teen got a face-full of mud. Axel put his foot on Chexese's back. "I'm not in a good mood right now. If I were you, I'd fuck off before I turn you into a pulp."

Chexese said nothing. Instead, he got out from under the red-head's foot and walked to the building. Axel smirked and turned back to Namine, who was grabbing her stuff. She looked up at him. "I've got to go now, but promise me one thing: by the end of the day, I want you to have kissed Roxas."

"What?"

"You heard me." She said over her shoulder. "And don't worry, he likes you too!"

Axel wasn't sure how long he stood there, stunned, before six teens came out of the building. He recognized two of them: the girl with bronze hair and the blonde boy. Lexrach and Roxas. What surprised him was that they were walking next to each other, sniggering about something. Roxas looked over at Axel and waved. The red-head waved back.

Roxas and Lexrach walked over to where the red-head was standing under his tree. Roxas grinned. "Hey Axel. Sorry I made you wait. I had detention, and I have it tomorrow too, so you'll have an extra hour to do whatever. Oh, and this is Lexrach…"

The bronze-haired girl looked up at Axel, distrust in her deep sapphire eyes. Axel didn't trust her either, knowing what she had done to Roxas a few days ago. The red-head stared back at her. "So you're the one who made Roxas eat mud…?"

"Yeah, so what if I am?" Lexrach narrowed her eyes. Roxas jumped between the two. "Guys, seriously. I don't want a fight. Personally, I'd just like to go home."

"Fuck." Lexrach clenched her teeth. Roxas raised an eyebrow, and the bronze-haired girl continued. "I forgot to tell the 'rents that I had detention, and cuz I broke my cell, I can't tell 'em now. Either of you dorks have a ride?"

"Axel does. And he'll drive you home. Riiiiight Axel?" Roxas glared at the red-head, who sighed. "Alright, let's just get this over with…"

The red-head shot a glare at Lexrach, who glared back menacingly. Axel turned and headed towards the parking lot, the two teens behind him. Roxas bit his lip nervously. 'I didn't expect Lexrach and Axel to hate each other so much… but maybe it was just the first impression they got from each other…'

The drive to Lexrach's house was tense, the silence being broken only by Lexrach spitting out instructions on which way to go. The three drove up to a small brick ranch house with a short blonde boy sitting on the porch. The red truck pulled up into the driveway and stopped. The blonde boy watched as his sister climbed out of the truck, a dejected look on her face. She walked over to the blonde, who nodded. "Hello Lexrach."

Lexrach sighed, watching the truck leave. "Hey Joxsh…"

"No luck?"

"No, but it's early. There's still a chance."


End file.
